REDUCTION OF APC

WHY A.P.C. Reduction ????

A TPS is like any other factory.

A TPS has to handle the INPUTS and discharge the
OUTPUTS of its process of power generation.
COAL AIR WATER are the inputs .
FLUE GASES ASH are the outputs.
Fans Pumps Crushers Conveyors Feeders etc.
are needed to handle these.
These auxiliaries use a motor as the prime mover.
The motors consume part of the electricity
produced.
The export of power is reduced by Auxy. Consmn.

Boiler Auxiliaries - Schematic

Synergem/FSSS/adp

FLUE GAS
PRDS

APH-A

SCAPH-A

FD Fan-A

Igniter Fan
Scanner Air Fan
FLUE GAS

I
N
D
B
O
X

APH-B
SCAPH-B

FD Fan-B
PRDS

FD Fan / Secondary Air

Circuit

PA Fan-A

SCAPH

A/H
A/H
B
B

Filter

Primary Air Circuit

PA Fan-B

Cold Air To Mills

SA Fan-B

Hot Air To Mills

To Mills

Hot PA Header

Filter

A/H
A/H
A
A

COLD PA HEADER

SA Fan-A

SCAPH

Flue gas

Regenerative Air
Heater

PA

SA

PA

SA

Flue gas

S
I
D
E

S
I
D
E

G
A
S

A
I
R

Air Circuit

To Mills Seal Air

Fan

To
scanner
s

Tempering
Air

Scanne
r Air
Fan

Cold Primary
Air

Hot Primary
Air to Bowl
Mills
PA
Sector

SA
Sector

Atmo
s Air
Atmo
s Air

Pulverized Coal &

Air Mixture to
Burners

Cold Secondary
Air

F/Gas
Sector

Bowl
Mill

e
lu
F
t
Ho s
Ga
Col
d
Flu
eG
as

Tri-sector
Air PreHeater
Hot Secondary Air to Wind
Box

Wind box Secondary Air Dampers-Coal &

Oil Burners Igniters.

Synergem/FSSS/adp

Secondary Air Dampers (S.A.D.)

Synergem/FSSS/adp

10

Louvres & Drift Eliminators

11

Efficiency Loading of the Plant

If the auxiliaries do not work efficiently, they will
consume more power.
This will reduce the export and the Efficiency of the
plant as a whole.
Proper maintenance of the auxiliaries will reduce
APC.
Every auxiliary has a no-load power consumption.
When it runs at less capacity than design, then %
consumption will be high.
Hence the need to run the PLANT at OPTIMUM
capacity.
12

Reasons for inefficiency

Auxiliary not running as designed.

Due to wear and tear in operation.(Neck Rings)
Worn Grinding elements, fan blades.
Dampers not functioning properly
Inadequate Loading on the TG Set.
Deposition of soot / ash on heat transfer surfaces.
Water side deposition on tubes of Boiler /
Condenser.
Poor D.M. water chemistry.
Poor Cooling water chemistry and Poor C.W.
system.
Poor vacuum condition.
13

Power Input to a PUMP

Pi =
Q H/
where: (SI Units )
Pi is the input power required (W)
is the fluid density (kg/m3)
is the standard acceleration of gravity
(9.8 m/s2)
H is the Head added to the flow (m)
Q is the flow rate (m3/s)
is the efficiency of the pump plant as
a decimal.
14

 The head added by the pump (H) is

a sum of: the static lift,
the head loss due to friction and
any losses due to valves or pipe
bends all expressed in metres of
fluid.
The value for the pump efficiency, ,
may be stated for the pump itself or
as a combined efficiency of the pump
and motor system.
15

Total Head on the PUMP =

H-1 + H-2 + 3 Valves + Bends + Velocity head

Difficulties faced in centrifugal pumps:

Cavitationthe net positive suction head
(NPSH) of the system is too low for the
selected pump
Wear of the Impellercan be worsened
by suspended solids
Corrosion inside the pump caused by
the fluid properties
Overheating due to low flow.(Churning)
Leakage along rotating shaft
Lack of primecentrifugal pumps must
be filled (with the fluid to be pumped) in
17
order to operate

 Note how neck rings prevent recirculation

18

 Centrifugal pumps contain rotating impellers within

stationary pump casings.
To allow the impeller to rotate freely within the pump
casing, a small clearance is designed to be maintained
between the impeller and the pump casing.
To maximize the efficiency of a centrifugal pump, it is
necessary to minimize the amount of liquid leaking
through this clearance from the high pressure or
discharge side of the pump back to the low pressure or
suction side.
Some wear or erosion will occur at the point where the
impeller and the pump casing nearly come into
contact.
This wear is due to the erosion caused by liquid
leaking through this tight clearance and other causes.
As wear occurs, the clearances become larger and the
rate of leakage increases.
19

 To minimize the cost of pump

maintenance, many centrifugal pumps
are designed with wearing rings.
Wearing rings are replaceable rings that
are attached to the impeller and/or the
pump casing to allow a small running
clearance between the impeller and the
pump casing
without causing wear of the actual
impeller or pump casing material.
These wearing rings are designed to be
replaced periodically during the life of a
pump and prevent the more costly
replacement of the impeller or the
20
casing.

21

Main reasons for high APC %

APC % goes up as the total Generation is reduced.
Reasons for less Generation Too many Start-ups due to frequent forced outagesMainly Tube leakages
Delays in Start-up. Auxiliaries not starting as planned.
Problems with start-up Oil Burners.
Non-availability of Coal Mills.
Under capacity utilization of Coal mills due to less
primary air flow.
Over loading of ID Fans due to air leakages into the gas
ducts
Worn-out seals in APH.
Excessive Steam / Water leakages
Poor condenser vacuum.
Use of MD BFP.

EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT CAN GIVE YOU

For an average increase of 1 % in

the Efficiency would result in: Coal savings of approx. 11 million tons
per annum worth Rs.13,000 Million
CO2 reduction about 13.5 million tons
per annum
Lower generation cost per kWh- as more
efficient the unit works, the more
economical it is
1% increase in efficiency for 210 Mw unit
with heat rate 2335 kcal/kwh means heat
rate improvement to 2275 kcal/kwh

MAJOR CAUSE OF INEFFICENCY IN

POWER PLANT
High Flue gas exit Temp
Excessive amount of excess air(O2)
Poor Mill/Burners performance
causing high unburnt carbon in fly
and bottom ash
Poor insulation
Poor house Keeping
Poor instrumentation and automation

MAJOR CAUSE OF INEFFICENCY IN

POWER PLANT (Cont)
Not running the units on design
parameter
Heaters not in service or poor
performance of regenerative system
Poor condenser vacuum
Excessive DM water consumptionpassing and leakages
Use of Reheat spray to control Reheat
Temperature
Poor Cylinder Efficiency of turbine

CONTROLLABLE PLANT
PARAMETERS

M.S. & R.H. Steam Temperatures

M.S. Steam Pressure
Condenser Vacuum
Final Feed Water Temperature
DP Across Feed Regulation
Station
Auxiliary Power Consumption
Make Up Water Consumption

SYNERGIZE OPERATION
OF UNIT
Need to clearly understand the relation
between performance & fuel, operation
and design parameters
Operational behavior and performance
Impacts of operating efficiency of Boiler,
Turbine and their auxiliaries on Net Unit
Heat Rate
Maximum Achievable Load, Maintenance &
Availability

SOME CRITICAL FACTORS AFFECTING

BOILER PERFORMANCE
Fuel:- Heating Value, Moisture Contents, Ash
Composition, Ash Contents,& Volatile Matter.

Operational Parameter:- Level of Excess

Air, & operating Condition of Burner Tilt
Mechanism.

Design:- Heating input per plan area, Height of

Boiler, Platens & pendants heat transfer
Surfaces, Burner & wind Box design.

BEHAVIOURAL IMPACTS

Low heat value results in over firing of fuel causing

more heat availability for super heater and re-heater
thus more attempration spray requirement. Hence
increase in THR, overloading of ash handling system,
fans and increased soot blowing

Moisture content increase causes increase in heat

transfer to S.H, and R.H. Hence again increase in
attempration spray and THR (Turbine Heat Rate)

Ash composition and contents increases damage to

pressure parts surfaces because of melting behavior
of low fusion ash temperature of blended coal in
particular
In consistency in fired fuel characteristics results in
variation in excess air requirement thereby
increasing stack loss and hence boiler efficiency
reduction, overloading of ID Fan and ultimately unit
load limitation

High heat value causes excessive radiant heat

transfer to water walls thereby leaving lesser heat

BEHAVIOURAL IMPACTS
Normally excess air ranges from 15% to 30% of
stoichiometric air.
High O2 % and presence of CO at ID Fan outlet
are indicator of air in leakages and improper
combustion in furnace
Poorly effective damper control also is the cause
of higher SEC of fans both primary and secondary
The quality and purity of feed water and make up
water is also required to be maintained in a
meticulous way by limiting blow down losses to
nearly 1% and by checking the passing and
leakages of valves. However, maximum 3% of
flow can be taken as make up for these causes
including soot blowing requirements
Soot blowing is dependent on ash contents and is
unit specific. Intelligently devised soot blowing

BEHAVIOURAL IMPACTS
Cascading effects on efficiency, loading and
availability because of following systems and
equipment performance also needed to be looked
into. The systems are:Fuel receiving, preparation and handling systems.
Pulverizing system
Air Heater
Fans
Electrostatic Precipitator
Fly ash handling system
Bottom ash handling system
Waste disposal system

CRITICAL FACTORS AFFECTING

CYCLE PERFORMANCE
1. Re-heater & its system pressure drop
2.
Extraction line pressure drop
3. Make up
4. Turbine exhaust pressure
5. Air preheat
6. Condensate sub-cooling
7. S/H & R/H spray flows
8. Wet Bulb Temp
9. Top Heaters out of service
10. H.P. heater drain pump
11. Type of BFP drives & method of flow control

RH & ITS SYSTEM PRESSURE DROP.

Every one 1% decrease in drop can
improve THR and output by 0.1% &
0.3% respectively
Normally designed for pressure drop
equivalent to 10% of HP exhaust
pressure
Causes are
Feed Heater abnormalities
R/H safety valve passing

EXTRACTION LINE PRESSURE

DROP
Permissible pressure drop between
stage pressure & Shell pressure is
maximum 6%
For every 2% increase in this
pressure drop, THR would be poorer
by 0.09%

CYCLE MAKE-UP.
Acceptable value of make up water is
3% to offset cycle water losses
For every 1% increase in make up
0.4% increase in THR & 0.2%
reduction on output is there

EXHAUST PRESSURE
Increase & decrease in exhaust
pressure do affect the THR.
Though no valid thumb rule has been
devised so far, however last stage
blade design & exhaust area of
turbine do affect the impact of
changing exhaust pressure.

Cooling tower material balance

The material balance around an evaporative cooling tower
system depends upon the operational variables of
1]Makeup flow rate,
2] Evaporation and
3] Windage losses,
4] Draw out rate(Blow down)
5] cycles of Concentration.

37

Mass Balance Evaporative Cooling Tower

M-Make-up M3/Hr
C-CW flow M3/Hr
D-draw off M3/hr
E-evaporation m3/hr
W-Windage loss M3/Hr
(0.005% of C)
X-ppm-w TDS
Xmk-ppm-w in Make-up
Xc-ppm-w in C.W.
Cycles of Concentration
CoC = Xc / Xmk
38

CoC

A water balance around the entire system is:

M=E+D+W
Since the evaporated water (E) has no salts,
a chloride balance around the system is:
M (XM) = D (XC) + W (XC) = XC (D + W)
and, therefore:
XC / XM = Cycles of concentration
= M (D + W) = M (M E) = 1 + [E (D +
W)]

39

Natural Draft Cooling Tower

40

Cross Flow

41

Louvres & Drift Eliminators

42

AIR PRE-HEAT.
Air preheating of combustion air before
entry to regenerative air heater is done
with either steam coil air pre - heater or
hot water pre heating coil to maintain
Average Cold End Temperature (ACET) to
escape dew point temperature
complications
Condensate retrieval is necessary to avoid
deterioration to THR depending upon unit
load and combustion pre heating duty

CONDENSATE SUB-COOLING
For 30% total flow and 2.5 deg C
sub-cooling ,an increase of 0.001% in
THR can be there for every
subsequent 10% increase in flow

R.H & S.H. SPRAY FLOW

Spray water whether drawn from BFP
or after the final heater, it is always
less the generative and less
productive as well
Every 1% spray flow, correction need
to be done in THR & load computed
from the curves supplied with the
machine

TOP HEATER OUT OF SERVICE.

Extraction steam flow meant for top
heater is required to pass through
turbine thereby increasing the
output.
But at the same time final feed water
temp. Is lowered resulting in poor
THR.
The % loss increases from lowest
stage (.5 to .6 ) to highest stage (1.2
to 1.5%)
Roughly each Deg C in TTD will result

PERFORMANCE MONITORING
Analyze the poor efficiency areas from
previous record
Go down to specific system and then to
component
Carry out performance/diagnostic study as
suggested in the Auditing Manual &
operating manual
Devise a unit specific efficiency control
sheet for few terminal conditions (Act vs
Des)
Monitor once per shift to know the
operating efficiency and check any
deterioration

Coal Handling Plant

Coal Crushers If significant quantity of coal >20 mm size
is observed on down side of crusher then it
may led to substantial decrease in mill
performance.
Identification of combination of various
least power consuming equipment and
recommending merit order operation.
Use of natural daylight through conveyor
galleries and use of fire resistant
translucent sheet.

Soft Starters- V.F.D.

Explore Installation of power saver device
in major LT motors. (Conveyor belt etc.):
Major HT /LT motors i.e. conveyors,
crushers etc. are often partially loaded &
also there is frequent starts /stops.
Explore the possibility of providing power
saver devices (soft starters) in major
motors.

Power Factor of Motors.

Power factor correction possibility:
Induction motors may have vey low power
factor, leading to lower overall efficiency.
Capacitors connected in parallel with the
motor are used to improve the power
factor.
The PF correction reduces KVA demand,
reduced I2R losses in cable upstream of
capacitor, reduced voltage drop in cables
(leading to improved voltage regulation),
and an increase in the overall efficiency of
the plant electrical system.

Chemicals for Dust Suppression

Explore the possibility of using chemicals
for reduced water spray:
Mixing of chemical compounds in water
provides much better atomization of water
spray, by reduction in surface tension of
water.
Thus for the given application of dust
suppression, lesser quantity of water is
sprayed which also results into lesser
wastage of latent heat in the steam
generator.

Use of Bull Dozers ?

Maximum Mechanical Handling: Minimum
Bulldozing: Receipt, unloading, stacking and
reclaiming and the selection of machinery
should be such that all the handling
operations are accomplished without the use
of semi mechanized means like bulldozers
which are more energy intensive equipment.
When coal is stocked in yard for more than
incubation period (duration between coal
mined and getting self ignited), special
precautions like compacting water spraying
must be taken.

Bunkering Frequency
Reduced Number of Fillings:
Live storage capacity of raw coal
bunkers and the filling pattern of
bunkers is so planned that,
24 hours coal requirement of the
generating units is met by not more
than two fillings per day.
This will eliminate frequent starting
and stopping of the CHP system.

Case Studies
Condensate Pumps Suction
Strainer. Cross sectional area inadequate.
ESP duct modification.- Un aerodynamic layout.

THANK YOU